The Wilmingtonian., 1887-04-16
BacetriolOgy.

relation Of bacteria to the living animal body,
in the american Journal ofhe Medical Sciences
as follows:
"The local effects of bacteria are very va
ricus, and differ in the case of almost every
bacterium. They may also, in most cases,
he explained by supposing local action of
poison originating as the result of this
growth of the bacteria. The poison, how
ever, is evidently not the same in all cases
indeed 1t is probably different IN every in
stance. The most violent Of the local effects
of bacteria are seen in in various gaugren-
GUS affections (acute traumatic gangrene
and noma). Here it is not q case OF death
Of the tissues as this result of violent iLfiam-
nation, SO much as direct killing of them
by the products of the bacteria. In acute
spreading gangrene baoi Iii have been found
which are apparently the cause of the dis
ease. In noma loug baoilli are present,
which Mr.. Linga.d has demonstrated to be-
the cause of the disease. In gangrenOus
stomatits in the calf, which affects calves at
at particular seasons, he has found bacllI
which are very similar in appearance to those
present IN numa in mau. 0u cultivation
they present. chal acters which which render
Tilt M easily dlstlDguishable from other bac
terra, aud ou incubation of these organisms
into The calf gIaugrenous stumatltis ls
again produced. A svmew hat similar affec-
ton, though less violent, was studied by
Koch in connection with mice, in vi hich
progressive gaugIene of the tissues was
them.
Another set Of local phenomena caused by
bacteria are iniiammatory, and III connection
with these microcucci are chiefly iounu:
otreptococci, wheie tue individual cocci are
arranged in CHAINS, aud staphylOcOcci, where
Lney are arranged IN groups. Or the lattel
thele are several kinds. The streptucvccl
are generally found i'll connection with yiU-
tent pIegmunous inflammation, where there
is a tendency to necrosis Of tissue with but
little suppurstIUn;. the staphyIUcocci are
chiefly found abscesses, The conditions uu-
der which sbscesses arlse in CONNECTION ith
these organisms sre not very clear; | believe
that local injury or weakening OF tile part is
necessary in most cases, aud thai the pri-
mary dvse is of great Importance. That
these organisms act by tue production OF
POISONOUS or irritating materials seems GER
tam, for II i0jecIed into the blood-stream iu
animals (aud III man p, @ma and ulcel atve
endOcardIts) they give lioe to embOli in val
lUus organs 1t is seen that the TISSUES in the
immedipte vicinity of the embolus do not
stain, Il ey are dead (coaguIation-n.c crosis),
while at some stance off a ring of leucocy-
tes is formed which euclUses the organisms.
IL is clear that the tissue in the immediate
vicinity Of the mass has been killed by some
poisonous excretiun, which, at further ds-
4
,snce, has beeh more dilute, aud has acted
only as an rIitsnL In connection with the
pyogenic microcUcci, 1t is interesting to OBJ
oerye that the same organisms are found in
py @mia, more especially the streptococci.
Probably the difference in dose plays an i'm.
portsut part IN the dItieren action of these
mlol ococoi, nevertheless can not but think
that some other conditions, with which We
are as yet unacquanted, must come into
play
A thiId set of phenomena may be Observed
as the result of the local action OF bacteria
viz: formative aud degeneratlve processes.
ln tubeFcle we have something more than a
merely intammatory process; we have dis.
Ilnct formation and trsnsfUrmation of cells
as Indicated by the appearance OF large mum
bers Of epIthelial cells. aud also OF giant
cells at al early stage OF the process. The
lubercle bacillus seems at first to grow b,
preference (where it csn) in epltheliyl (as in
The alyeoi of the lung) or erdothelal cells,
leading in the first Instance to their hyper
hypertrophy and multiplication, but, bye-and
bye,to their degeneration and Gaseous trans
formation. In the case of some cells, how.
ever, the vitality OF the cell seem to be un-
usually great, aud thus they go on growing,
leading to the formation of giant cell.
tubercle Illustrates very the well the-fs sht
between cells and bacilli. If the cells are
he weaker they quickly die and undergo de-
generation, aud thus the center OF the tuber-
Gle becomes converted into a Gaseous mass,
in which the bacill may for a short time
continue to grow. II, however, the cell OBJ
rain the victory, the baoilll soon disappear,
and "fbrous tubercle," containing giant
cells, is left, in which few or no bacilli can
be found. These are the tubercles which,
on accout ofthe Absence or small number of
the bdcill have led to the form alton of var |
ious theories as to tubercle being due to |
| chemical poison. etc These theories, how |
ever, depend believe, on misnterpretstion
of the facts; snch tupercles are rather to be
regarded as tubereles in Whish the bacili
have been already destroyed than as grow
ing nodules. Other examples of the forma